Scandinavian Bear Conference – Orsa, Sweden – January 2010 Lawrence J. Van Daele Alaska Department of Fish and Game 211 Mission Road Kodiak, Alaska 99615 USA
[email protected] MANAGEMENT OF BROWN BEAR HUNTING ON KODIAK ISLAND, ALASKA LAWRENCE J. VAN DAELE, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 211 Mission Road, Kodiak, Alaska 99615 USA VICTOR G. BARNES, JR., P. O. Box 1546, Westcliffe, Colorado 81252 USA Abstract: Brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations are hunted along much of the North Pacific Rim, yet little research has been published about the population dynamics and harvest management of these bear populations. The purpose of our work was to investigate the population dynamics of bears on Kodiak Island, Alaska during a long-term study, and to develop an intuitive model that could be used by managers of coastal bear populations to objectively determine appropriate harvest strategies. We conducted research on 4 separate study areas on Kodiak from 1982-2004, all of which had marked bears. The annual adult male survival rate (0.81) was similar in all study areas. The overall survival rate for all independent females was 0.87, with one area lower than the others at 0.80. Subadult (<5 years old) annual survival rates were 0.56 for males and 0.89 for females. The major cause of death for males was hunter harvest (91%), while most females died of non-anthropogenic causes (54%). The annual harvest density for all areas was 17.07 independent bears/1,000 km2, and the harvest rates of independent bears ranged from 6.7% to 10.3%.